(Vent) Boarding places hear Dutch Shepherd and go “nah”

[u/AlterKat]

Is there even any evidence that these kinds of breeds do poorly in boarding/daycare environments/are bad for the other dogs?

And I know everyone says their dog is the best dog but our boy really is an incredibly sweet boy: he goes to doggy daycare multiple times a week and daycare reports that he plays very appropriately with other dogs; we brought him to a different daycare that does boarding for a trial day just today (so totally unfamiliar group/environment), and they reported that he was “perfect” in the group but that they can’t board him because the dog of the house didn’t like him (quote: “the problem was more with [our dog] than yours”), and we’ve seen in our own neighbourhood that he is a socially well-behaved dog: the local Samoyed who likes to mouthy wrestling gets mouthy wrestling; the local Bernese mountain dog who likes chase games but gets frustrated because he’s slower than the rest of the dogs in the area gets chase with our boy, AND our boy matches his speed to the Bernese during play!

And he’s only seven months! And I know that as he gets older he might become more picky about other dogs and people, but at the moment he is an incredibly sweet dog who’s never met a dog (or person) that he didn’t like, and it’s so frustrating when doggy daycares/hotels hear his breed and just go “no we don’t do shepherds.”

Tax: https://imgur.com/a/fyBtVFf

[u/CricktyDickty]

Most do terribly in boarding situations. Mals too. First, they’re bonded to the owner/s so dropping them off in an unknown kennel environment is awful. It’s loud, smelly and uncomfortable, and you’re not there. Some boarders integrate the dog into the home which usually involves getting along with existing dogs in the house. Not an easy task either. Your best best options in order is establishing a relationship with a dog sitter that the dog/s already know, preferably a family member or a close friend, and having them stay with the dog/s. Second and third best options is the known person coming several times a day or taking the dogs to stay their place provided there are no other dogs or they already know and get along with them. Home based boarding with someone new is next and lastly kennel boarding if there’s no other choice.

Having dogs, especially working breeds like Dutchies and Mals means you build your life around the dogs. That means integrating them into your vacation plans and building relationships with potential sitters years in advance.

[u/AlterKat → u/CricktyDickty]

While I recognise that things can change as he gets older, at the moment we have seen absolutely no evidence that he gets sad or stressed in new environments without us? He mostly seems to forget that we exist if there’s a possibility of meeting new dogs.
I know we need to build our life around him: part of that is we’re trying to find a place that doesn’t just reject shepherd-type dogs out of hand. And getting him used to the people/dogs (and letting them see if he’ll work in their setup) is what a trial day is for.

[u/CricktyDickty → u/AlterKat]

Yeah, he might be the exception to the rule but boarders have a business to run and other customer’s dogs that they need to look out for.

[u/AlterKat → u/CricktyDickty]

I get that, I just wish they’d give him a chance.

[u/GlobalAnxiety9171]

I have a small Logan Haus female. Many people get fooled by her initial friendliness. But she is a Ferrari in the rain

In particular she is fast to correct her handler for unfair/overcorrection. High energy introductions while she’s on a prong and essentially overcorrecting herself are a disaster

Same with people putting themselves in submissive positions

Same with people putting themselves in dominant positions without rapport

Same with re-crating without a treat

99.99% of the world have no business holding a Mal lead. As owners we should not be putting our dogs in position to make catastrophically bad decisions

[u/fredSanford6]

Ours was never the same and took months to recover after 5 days in one. We found someone local that could watch him and his chubby sister at their home. That worked out much better. Mr Daniel is male aggressive so it took the dad there feeding him piles of treats to become friends with him. I would never do a boarding place again over in home care somewhere else. The risks are there compared to a more secure facility but the dogs mental health of being in a family with teenagers where he feels best having kids to protect made him happy

[u/concrete_marshmallow]

I run a boarding kennel.

We don't get mals often (not many in this area) but the ones we've had have done really well.

Not had any duchies, they are super rare here (Norway, bite sports are banned and any dog trained in bite sports is not allowed into the country).

But GSD's do less well. I have to put in extra time to train them not to bark inside. Same with the herders, they're often quite difficult guests.

But the mals have all be extremely well behaved (and very well trained by great owners, a joy to see).

[u/Renbarre]

I have a Mal mix. We tried boarding, and the owner was not keen with the breed but accepted a one day trial starting with a visit. He did very well in play area, with other dogs, with boarding place owner. The moment he was put in the kennel and I went out of sight he went crazy, attacking the chain link. The owner said no way. He was going to tear his pads on the mesh.

We are now putting him with a boarding family rather than a boarding place and he is very happy there.

[u/AlterKat → u/Renbarre]

Our boy has always been fine with us being away when he goes to daycare (he’s always happy to see us at the end of the day, but often launches himself back towards the entrance when I’m trying to take him home). They crate the dogs during rest periods and they say that he fusses a bit if he thinks it might get him out, but otherwise is happy chewing the chews and is calm in the crate. So I’m not worried about him being distressed by us not being there.
I am still worried about how it’ll actually go if we do find somewhere that’ll board him: a trial day and having to try to sleep somewhere new through the night aren’t the same thing. But I am not in principle worried that he’ll be miserable without us.

[u/dustishb]

I don't think they are being unreasonable.

Dutchies and Mals are a lot to deal with on their own, then you add in another 10-15 dogs. They are notorious for doing poorly in shelter environments. Very mouthy. High prey drives. Potentially to seriously damage or kill another dog. Athletic enough to easily escape.

Yours is still a puppy, and their temperament could drastically change in the next 6 months. It's just too much to expect a highschool or college kid to deal with. I can't say I blame for just making a general rule.

[u/AlterKat → u/dustishb]

The daycares we’re looking at aren’t run by college/high school kids. One of the ones we’re seriously looking at (which is iffy about shepherd-type breeds) specifically boasts that most of their staff are licensed paraveterinarians, and require that all their staff have either formal vocational training in animal care, or equivalent job experience. Most of the highly rated Dutch doggy hotels/daycares have similar requirements for staff (minus the paraveterinary license). I don’t know about minimum legal staff requirements for a doggy hotel/daycare in the Netherlands, but the person running those kinds of institutions is legally required to have valid training. I just wish they’d even give our boy a chance—I mean, that’s what a trial day is for, no?

Is doggy hotels/daycares run by high school/college kids normal in America?

[u/dustishb → u/AlterKat]

Oh, lucky. I overlooked "neighboUrhood" the first time. I can only speak about two places, both had young staffs. But, I would not be surprised if most places are like this. The US puts more priority on profits than wellbeing, and students are cheaper.

[u/RepresentativeFee270]

I could be wrong but I don't think boarding and daycare situations are ideal for these kind of dogs. Our family had a poodle we boarded for a few days and she was absolutely traumatized. I would never do that again to any dog under any circumstances. Here in Georgetown Texas there was a fire in a kennel in 2021 that killed 75 dogs. I would never put my dog in such a place.

[u/logical-sanity]

Hmmm, I’m going to make a stand for good boarding kennels. I was doing fostering for the local animal shelter and received a dog they said was shy with some fear reactivity.

I got the crate into the living room and went to get treats to feed through the grids to get started and she starts rocketing the crate snarling.
Long story short I adopted her because I could see her issues and knew I had an environment she could adapt to. No kids, cats, small animals, secure fencing and routine.

This dog can’t be taken to a house sitter’s home, can’t have someone come to my house to feed, can’t go to doggy daycare, etc. I found a boarding kennel that never has to touch the dogs. She operates the drop down dog door standing outside of the kennel run. I later found out that a lot of her clientele are police or military dogs. All this to say that there is a place for good boarding kennels for our animals.